It was Friday morning in an airless structure at Stockton's former Sea Scout Base across Monte Diablo Avenue from Louis Park. Sixty-four teens and young adults with pasts that include drug dealing, dropping out of school and gang membership were taking their marching orders at the end of a one-week boot camp. Six of the students live at Juvenile Hall.

The so-called mental-toughness camp was held as the kickoff to this year's San Joaquin YouthBuild, a job-training program in the construction trades operated by the county Office of Education to serve at-risk young people who are seeking their high school diplomas or equivalent certificates.

The fatigue-clad trainers, Al Johnson and Lyle Grandison, are co-founders of Miami-based Respect For Life Educational Services.

Brother Al and Brother Lyle, as they call themselves, for years have held boot camps for YouthBuild programs across the United States.

The Stockton camp included physical drills that were conducted on a Louis Park baseball diamond, as well as military discipline, motivational speeches and moments of painful soul-baring that took place inside the Sea Scout hangar.

Nakriesha Ford stood before her classmates wearing pink beads, a pink bandanna and black and pink basketball shoes. She admitted, "I came here hating everybody in the world."

She is 17 and she told the other students she has a mother who doesn't love her. She said she's been in "practically every school in Stockton" and has been to jail "more times than I can count." She said she didn't want to speak to anyone when the boot camp began, but as the days passed, unity developed and she started "hugging and talking."

When she became a little too chatty Friday at a moment when she should have been listening, one of the adults involved in the program questioned her work ethic. Ford broke down and told everyone in the room she was doing her best.

"I'm trying to change," she said.

Brother Lyle took off his hat, opened his arms and gave Ford a hug.

"You are worthy of being loved," he told her. "You are worthy of being supported."

The overriding question at such an event is basic: Can a single week initiate positive transformation for lives that have been battered - in some cases for more than two decades - by neglect, broken homes, poverty and bad decisions?

"You've got people who are masters at singing and athletics," Brother Lyle said when asked that question. "We're masters at human transformation."

Ford said, "They show you the strongest part of your life is your mind. I'm happy to have met them."

Sheilah Goulart, who runs YouthBuild for the county office, said she is a believer. She said her goal in paying $7,500 to Brothers Al and Lyle for the week was to create a culture that will last the school year and to break down barriers between the students, some of whom once were members of rival gangs.

"It's the best money I've ever spent," she said.

Goulart added that the boot camp also weeded out those who weren't ready to commit themselves to the YouthBuild program. Over the course of the week, 16 of the original participants dropped out, and others will fall out during the year if they fail two of the random drug tests they've agreed to be subjected to in order to take part in the program.

Adam Gonzalez, one of those who survived the boot camp, expressed confidence.

"We've learned self-respect, teamwork, unity," said Gonzalez, 18. "I hope a lot of us take it on for the rest of our lives. Everybody here is getting a second chance at life. We made it through hell week. It was worth it.''